The Mullen Fire, burning in rugged terrain about 40 miles southwest of Laramie since Sept 17, is expected to be officially declared as fully contained this afternoon.
The fire’s been listed at about 177,000 acres or 276-square miles for more than 2 weeks and as 95% contained the last 3 days.
Command of the fire was transferred from a Type 1 Incident Management Team to a Type 3 team last Saturday to a Type 4 local team today while the number of personnel on the fire has dropped from more than 1,100 at its peak to 42 today.
Crews have been limited all week to simply patrolling and monitoring because of low temperatures and heavy snow that’s covered the burned area.
Fire experts say smoke will likely be seen in some areas throughout the winter as fuels continue to smolder under the snow until the spring thaw.
A BAER – Burned Area Emergency Response Team – has been assessing post-fire hazards and recovery plans for more than 2 weeks.